What Hatake Ziyan Did Back Then

"Oh, right! Coming!" Kushina snapped out of her daze and hurried after Hatake Ziyan as she answered.

At that moment, one of the daimyo's samurai standing nearby could no longer hold back. He shouted at Hatake Ziyan, "Hatake Ziyan, don't push your luck! This is the Daimyo's Mansion!"

"Oh?" Hatake Ziyan stopped and turned to the daimyo. "Is that what you think too?"

The daimyo panicked in his seat and hurriedly said, "Stay your..."

"Don't worry, Lord Daimyo! He's just some punk. I know how far to go!"

The samurai who had stepped forward interrupted the daimyo, drew his sword, and charged at Hatake Ziyan.

The daimyo shouted furiously, "How dare you! Who gave you permission to disrespect Lord Ziyan? Get back here right now!"

Unfortunately, the samurai would never hear those words. The instant he drew his sword, Hatake Ziyan had already struck.

Hatake Ziyan stood before the samurai, watching him clutch his throat. "Didn't you notice that even your daimyo didn't dare say a word against me? You really think you're somebody, huh? You even dared draw your sword in front of me!"

The moment Hatake Ziyan drew his sword, dozens of guards rushed in, and more than a dozen ninja appeared on the rafters!

Seeing his most capable samurai have his throat slit by a single stroke from Hatake Ziyan, the daimyo shuddered. He had never expected that this man, already almost sixty, would not only retain his strength but grow even stronger.

After killing the man, Hatake Ziyan showed not the slightest trace of unease. It was as though he had killed a chicken in his own yard rather than one of the daimyo's men.

Instead, he cast a provocative glance at the guards around him, as if to say, Come on, take a swing at me!

"Lord Daimyo, you really ought to keep these people in line. I've already shown plenty of restraint, haven't I? So, may I leave now?" Hatake Ziyan asked, glancing at Minato Namikaze, who had instinctively stepped in front of the daimyo.

"Of course!" The daimyo rose, took two steps forward, and addressed Hatake Ziyan before ordering, "All of you, stand down! Can't you see Lord Ziyan is leaving?"

At the daimyo's command, the guards hurried back out, and the ninja on the rafters vanished one after another.

"Good!" Hatake Ziyan turned and continued outside, calling as he walked, "Guards! Get in there and wash the floor! What kind of guards are you? You can't even figure out something that obvious. I think you all need to be taught a lesson too!"

The daimyo watched Hatake Ziyan's retreating back, clenching his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh!

After leaving the Daimyo's Mansion, Kushina and Hatake Ziyan found a small tavern and went in for lunch.

Kushina gazed at Hatake Ziyan with shining eyes, unable to stop staring at him.

Hatake Ziyan felt his face. "There's nothing dirty on my face, is there? Why do you keep staring at me?"

"Grandpa Ziyan, you were so commanding back there! Minato really ought to learn from you! But why is even the daimyo afraid of you?" Kushina asked.

Hatake Ziyan tilted his head up at a forty-five-degree angle and gazed at the sky as he recalled, "That goes back to when Konoha was first founded.

"Back then, Konoha had just been established, and everything in the village needed money. But after years of war, none of the clans had much money left. The village needed to be built, though, and we needed those funds urgently. So I suggested to Hashirama that we go to the Daimyo's Mansion and offer to protect the daimyo and the Land of Fire's borders in exchange for money.

"Hashirama thought it would work too. After all, Konoha was within the Land of Fire, and a good relationship with the Daimyo's Mansion would help us develop!

"But Hashirama was busy with village affairs and had no time to go, so Madara and I went together. In those days, though, the daimyo saw ninja as people he could simply hire with money. He saw no need to spend more to establish that kind of partnership. Besides, they liked samurai because once samurai pledged their loyalty, they wouldn't betray their master easily. Ninja were rather different.

"So the daimyo refused to work with us or give us money. He even insulted us, calling us lowborn and all that. With our tempers, how could Madara and I put up with that? We tore through the Daimyo's Mansion, killed one or two thousand of their samurai, and put a blade to the daimyo's throat. Only then did he agree to give us money.

"But when Hashirama found out, he gave us both a thorough scolding and agreed to several conditions from the daimyo. That's why, for instance, a new Hokage now needs the daimyo's approval to take office. On top of that, the daimyo had seen our strength and felt that ninja really could further strengthen the Land of Fire's defenses. That's why his relationship with Konoha has stayed pretty good all these years.

"Of course, that also has something to do with the fact that neither Madara nor I remained in Konoha. The current daimyo is the son of the daimyo back then. He saw Madara and me killing people, so perhaps he's a little afraid when he sees me!

"Besides, I already showed him plenty of respect today, all right? When his father was in power, I never needed anyone to announce me before entering the Daimyo's Mansion!"

Hearing Hatake Ziyan's account, Kushina couldn't help covering her face.

What do you mean, he valued your strength? He was clearly terrified of you! You had a blade against his throat. How could he refuse? Would a daimyo of all people willingly throw his life away?

Minato's instinctive action earlier had earned him a measure of the daimyo's approval. After all, who wouldn't like someone who stood on their side?

"Minato Namikaze, do you know why I tolerate Hatake Ziyan?" the daimyo asked, seemingly recalling something.

As a commoner ninja, how could Minato Namikaze know the history behind it? He shook his head. "I don't! Is it because Lord Ziyan helped establish Konoha back then?"

The daimyo shook his head, then gave Minato Namikaze an embellished account of what Hatake Ziyan and Madara had done all those years ago.

Minato Namikaze was deeply shocked by what he heard. Seeing the pitiful look in the daimyo's eyes, he felt his image of Hatake Ziyan begin to crumble.

"Minato Namikaze, once you take the Hokage position, you must keep power firmly in your own hands. You cannot let people like him throw Konoha into chaos! If the opportunity arises, I hope you can get rid of Hatake Ziyan for me!" the daimyo said, his eyes gleaming viciously.

Minato Namikaze stared at the daimyo in shock. He had never expected the daimyo's hatred for Hatake Ziyan to run so deep!

"But Lord Daimyo! Aren't you afraid I might be one of Lord Ziyan's men?" Minato Namikaze asked.

"Hahaha! When Hatake Ziyan struck just now, you instinctively stepped in front of me. And now that you've asked me that question, I believe you're not one of his men!" The daimyo patted Minato's shoulder as he spoke.

Minato Namikaze lowered his head in thought, then said, "Lord Ziyan has many supporters in Konoha. He's also spent decades building his influence in the Land of Iron, and there's no telling what else he has up his sleeve! So killing him wouldn't be a very good choice! Besides, Lord Ziyan is already quite old and doesn't have many years left to live. Rather than risk the consequences of killing him, it would be better to wait for him to die on his own!"